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Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2016, Match 26 at Delhi: Likely XI for Zaheer Khan, Chris Morris and Co.

Delhi Daredevil will look to overcome their 1 run defeat in their last match and hope to finish on the right side of the line against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday.

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Chris Morris was the star of the match for DD against GL © AFP
Chris Morris was the star of the match for DD against GL © AFP

Delhi Daredevils (DD) face former two time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 26 of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 at Delhi. The match will be played at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, which has so given us enthralling matches. DD are coming off a close defeat by the hands of Gujarat Lion in their last match (margin of victory was 1 run), thanks all to Chris Morris’s unbeaten 82 . KKR in their last match were comprehensively beaten by Mumbai Indians thanks to Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard mauling. DD who are placed at number 4 in the table, will hope to get past the finish line this with winner written against their name. With most of the players performing well, Vishal Mehra  lists down probable likely XI for DD in the match against KKR. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2016, Match 26 at Delhi

Top Order: DD have only Quinton de Kock as their main stay opener who has produced the required good for them.De kock has so far amassed 198 runs from five matches for DD at an impressive strike rate of 163.63. Sanju Samson has struggled so far with the form in this edition of IPL, after proving his metal with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the earlier seasons. Karun Nair who was touted to be the next superstar for DD, has failed to live up to the hype. Nair has been scoring heavily for his state team the recently concluded Indian domestic season.

Middle Order: JP Duminy has taken over the responsibility nurturing the DD’s young middle only to have found no support from the other players. Duminy’s innings of 48 in the last match was crucial as it gave his team clear chance of winning the tie. Rishant Pant playing his first IPL match scored 20 off 17 balls, which included 2 boundaries. Pant was clearly overwhelmed by the occasion. Pant is an important groove in the scheme of things for DD as Rahul Dravid rates him highly since his India- Under 19 days. DD star from the last match Chris Morris, who displayed all-round performance with both bat and ball. His innings of 82* helped his team fell just one run short of GL’s total of 172.

Lower Order: Pawan Negi who was purchased for a bag full of money in the auction has not yet set the stage of fire with his bowling or batting so far.He has been used more as a floater than a No.7 batsmen. Skipper Zaheer Khan comes in next spear heading their DD pace attack, with only Morris to support him in the department. Khan has had a unlucky time this season, with coming close to picking up wickets only to miss out most chances. Spinning duties with be ably handled by the duo of Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir, both of whom have been economical and devastating as a pair. Tahir in the last match picked up as many as three-wickets, while Mishra kept on applying the pressure. Both will also have Pawan Negi to bank on for support.DD’s old war horse Shahbaz Nadeem who played his first IPL match this season will hope to come up with a more defined show this time around.

Delhi Daredevil’s likely XI (Batting Order): Quinton de Kock (wk), Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, JP Duminy, Rishabh Pant,Pawan Negi, Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem and Zaheer Khan (c).

(Vishal Mehra is a reporter at CricketCountry, who enjoys his weekly dose of anime, and plays cricket once a white moon. His twitter handle is @vishal_oxyjinn.)

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